Slayers, Present and Future
by victoriamartynne
Summary: When a future slayer is kidnapped it's up to the Fang Gang and the present slayer to save her.
1. Chapter One

Title: Slayers Present and Future  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: A future slayer is kidnapped and it's up to the Fang Gang and the present slayer to get her back.  
  
"What do you want me to do Angel?" Cordelia shouted and flung a plate at him. It missed the target of his head but hit his chest instead. "Wear a bin bag so men don't look at me?"  
  
"Yeah!" He shouted back and dodged a cup that came flying at his nose. "Why are you so upset?"  
  
"Upset?" Cordelia paused in her search for more objects to throw and turned to him, a glint in her eye. "I'm not upset."  
  
"You're not?" He asked hopefully.  
  
"No, of course not Angel." She replied with a tight smile. "I'm pissed off!"  
  
Wes began to walk into the kitchen but heard her final words and turned back around again and warned Fred, Gunn and Lorne not to go in there.  
  
"You're pissed off? Why?" He asked, completely baffled.  
  
"Why? I don't know how that word can pop out of your undead mouth!" She flung a tin of beans at him. "You did what you promised never to do!"  
  
"I did?" He rubbed his chin where the tin had hit. "What did I do?"  
  
She flung her hands in the air, causing him to flinch, expecting another attack. "You re the most aggravating vampire in the whole world. You are going to stay in here and think about what you have done!"  
  
Even as she said the words she knew they sounded stupid. He smirked which angered her more and she reached for the tinned tomatoes. Before he realised what had happened the tin had bounced off his forehead, leaving a red imprint and even a trickle of blood. That'll teach the vampire not to laugh at me, she thought with a smile.  
  
Angel glared at her and then grabbed her, lifting her up in his arms. Her position was not graceful, she was half upside down, half sideways and she didn't even want to know where his right hand was venturing.  
  
He carried her out of the kitchen, ignoring her screams and attempts to bite him.  
  
"Oh dear God." Wes muttered as he saw the pair.  
  
Gunn just snickered and mentally took bets on who was going to win, he'd put his money on Cordy.  
  
"Angel, if you don't put me down right now I swear I'm going to." She trailed off.  
  
"Going to what Cor?" He taunted.  
  
Impulsively her foot fount it's way to his groin and slammed into him hard.  
  
He dropped her unceremoniously on the floor, grimacing at the pain she'd caused him.  
  
"Hey!" She demanded from the floor. "How gentleman like was that?"  
  
"Cordelia, you just kicked me in the."  
  
"In the what Angel?" A new voice added.  
  
Everyone turned to see the Scoobies in the doorway.  
  
"Oh dear God." Wesley repeated and dropped his glasses on the floor.  
  
"So, Cordelia?" Buffy said and sauntered over. "Enjoying being the underling for once?"  
  
Cordelia pulled a face. "So, Buffy?" Cordelia joined in. "Enjoying having hairs grow out of your nose?"  
  
Buffy clamped a hand over her nose. "I do not!"  
  
"Hey, the underling sees everything you big people don't." Cordelia made a great show over crossing her legs and tapping her fingers on the floor.  
  
"Okay." Angel said, diffusing the situation slightly. He pulled Cordelia up off the floor by her arms. "Why don't you be a big person right now and go and put on some coffee?"  
  
She snorted. "Yeah, because I'm going to do that."  
  
He sighed and went to do it himself.  
  
"You just can't find good staff these days." Buffy commented, removing her hand from her nose now Cordelia was stood up.  
  
"Like you'd know, Miss Doublemeat Palace." Cordelia sniped and followed Angel, leaving Wes to smile awkwardly at their guests.  
  
"What are they doing here?" She hissed.  
  
"I don't know, I'm not a mind reader." Angel insisted.  
  
"Good power to have though." She mused, completely off track.  
  
He smiled. "Ha!" She said happily. "I knew you were not mad at me for kicking you in your manly manpire parts."  
  
"My manly manpire parts?" He raised an eyebrow. "My manly manpire parts had better work tonight."  
  
She looked thoughtful for a moment. "They'd better." She agreed.  
  
He smiled at her and pulled her towards him to kiss her gently. "I love you." He whispered.  
  
"I love you too."  
  
"Okay, who wants coffee?" Angel asked and brought out what he'd made in a large jug.  
  
He went back to get cups, milk and sugar and left them to help themselves.  
  
Cordelia came out of the kitchen and hopped onto the counter. "So, what do you want?"  
  
Angel prodded her on the way past. "She means, what brings you to LA?"  
  
"Short holiday." Giles replied. "And also I would like to buy some rare books while we're here."  
  
Cordelia fake yawned and Gunn snickered at her. Angel sidled across to her and elbowed her in the side. "Sounds interesting. Where are you staying?"  
  
Giles started to stutter and look down. "Well, Buffy said. never mind."  
  
Buffy stepped forward. "I was hoping you would let us stay here actually. You know I'd do the same for you."  
  
Angel felt Cordelia's anger but swallowed and decided to ignore it and face her wrath later. He nodded. "Of course you would and we would love to have you."  
  
Buffy beamed.  
  
Cordelia frowned. "Actually."  
  
Angel clamped a hand over Cordelia's mouth before whatever she was going to say could come out.  
  
"Is it just me or is there something weird going on here?" Xander asked Willow in a whisper.  
  
The red head shrugged. "I don't know. They have been working together for three years."  
  
"Maybe they've became orgasm partners." Anya suggested a little too loudly, making Giles and Buffy turn around with weird looks on their faces.  
  
"Fred, could you help me get some rooms ready?" Angel asked her, smiling broadly.  
  
She nodded and jumped up to get the spare sheets and towels they had in the basement.  
  
Lorne suddenly stood up. "Seen as though Angel Cakes is too rude to introduce us. I'm Lorne, this is Gunn and the lovely young lady who has just run down the stairs is Fred. Pleased to meet you."  
  
Giles stuck out his hand and shook it. "Rupert Giles. And this is Xander, Willow, Anya and, of course, Buffy."  
  
Gunn nodded hello to them.  
  
While Lorne was making introductions Cordelia leaned towards Angel. "I can't believe you just did that."  
  
He smiled and spoke through his teeth. "Hospitality Cordelia, look it up."  
  
"Don't you use that phrase with me Angel." Cordelia whispered suddenly angry again, the phrase reminding her of the one he'd used when he'd fired them and stolen a book. 'I'm a vampire, look it up.'  
  
He was instantly contrite. "I'm sorry baby." He whispered.  
  
She gave him the evil eye and went to sit next to Gunn.  
  
"So, Angel." Buffy turned back to him after introductions had been made. "You said 'we' would be happy to have you, who else lives here?"  
  
Angel looked towards Cordelia but she shook her head. He sighed. "Fred does too and sometimes the others do when we work late or something."  
  
Buffy seemed satisfied by the answer. "So, are you working late tonight?"  
  
Gunn came to Cordelia's rescue. "Yeah, a long night of research. Could be around dawn when we finish."  
  
Wes smiled slightly but didn't contradict his lie. "Or earlier depending on how fast we get done."  
  
Fred came back up from the basement with he arms full of sheets and towels. Xander hurried across to help her before she could fall or drop them.  
  
"When we work late we get to order tacos and pizza." Fred smiled. "I like tacos best."  
  
"Me too." Willow agreed with a grin at Fred.  
  
"I think there are enough sheets here, we don't really get many visitors." Fred explained and began sifting through the pile of linen.  
  
"I'm sure we can manage to do that." Giles said to Fred and then turned to Angel. "If you could point us to the rooms you want us to use then we'll manage."  
  
"Third floor, the first rooms on the right." Angel replied. "There should be four or maybe five."  
  
Giles nodded and thanked him for letting them stay. Buffy took the bags while Giles carried up the mountain of sheets and towels and they all went upstairs.  
  
Cordelia stood up angrily. "Is it your mission for the day to piss me off?"  
  
Angel looked flabbergasted. "What?"  
  
She planted a hand firmly on her hip. "Okay, first of all you try to tell me what I should and should not wear. Then you mistake me for being upset when I'm angry. Then you invite the people I hate most in the world, except for my parents, to come and stay. So you tell me which one of them is pissing me off. A, B, C or all of the above?"  
  
He stood there, unsure of what to say.  
  
"Don't think of what to say." Lorne advised. "Never goes down well."  
  
"I think you got some revenge by kicking me in places where I shouldn't be kicked." He replied. "And throwing a tin of beans at my head."  
  
Gunn snorted and then muttered. "Might knock some sense into that big head of yours."  
  
"Revenge?" Cordelia uttered. "I don't want revenge."  
  
"You don't?" He asked stupidly. "Then what do you..?"  
  
"I want to be apologised to and treated with the respect I deserve." She stated and put both of her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"The respect. you deserve." He repeated slowly.  
  
"Think about that." She replied and walked across to him.  
  
She put an arm around him, pulling him close to her and reached around to his ass. He looked nervously at the others, wondering what she was up to. She began fumbling and he jumped.  
  
She grinned at him and pulled her arm back around, revealing the credit card she'd swiped from his pocket.  
  
"Think hard!" She shouted over her shoulder as she left the hotel.  
  
He stared after her and gulped. This was not going to end well.  
  
Cordelia arrived back hours later loaded down with bags. Angel gulped as he saw several designer ones amongst them.  
  
The Scoobies were helping the gang with research and were scattered around the office area. Anya was helping Wes research into Amerat demons as she had met a couple and even dated one during her time as a vengeance demon. Fred and Willow were happily searching the Net on Fred's computer for any spiritual disturbances in the area. Xander was reading a boring demon book while Gunn sharpened weapons. Buffy was sat on Cordelia's desk leaning over Angel's shoulder as he sat at his own desk reading a file.  
  
"Been having fun?" He asked as she came towards the counter to put the bags down on it.  
  
She smiled. "Of course."  
  
"Been anywhere nice?" He asked. "And expensive."  
  
She smiled even more. "I might have."  
  
Angel closed his eyes briefly. "Great."  
  
"Well, if you ask me." Buffy began. "I think it's wrong to go spending a lot of Angel's money."  
  
"It's a good job no-one asked you then, isn't it?" Cordelia said pointedly and picked up her bags again. "I'll go upstairs and unpack these."  
  
She walked towards the stairs and then stopped and turned around. "Oh, and Buffy, when you decide to stop polishing my desk with your ass give me a call and I'll disinfect it, okay?"  
  
She left Buffy to stare after her open mouthed.  
  
"Yo man." Gunn said to Angel. "Barbie's cool."  
  
Angel followed Cordelia upstairs when it wouldn't seem suspicious.  
  
He opened his bedroom door cautiously and peered inside. He was greeted by the sight of Cordelia's half naked form. He entered the room completely and leaned against the door to close it.  
  
She turned around. "Oh, it's you."  
  
He eyed her dressed in only a pair of jeans and a white lacy bra. "Nice outfit."  
  
"I thought so." She replied and pulled a jumper over her head.  
  
"Have you stopped being pissed at me yet?"  
  
"That depends."  
  
"On what?" He asked warily.  
  
"On where I'm sleeping tonight." She replied and turned to look at him.  
  
"Where do you want to sleep?"  
  
She blew out her breath angrily. "Look Angel, can we stop playing games? Am I going to be sleeping with you tonight or am I going to be in the guest room in case the love of your life decides to call in the middle of the night?"  
  
"Cordelia, honey, you are the love of my love." Angel answered and came to envelope her in his arms so her head rested against his chest. "And I want you right beside me tonight, or under me, or on top, whatever."  
  
She laughed softly. "Or all of the above."  
  
He smiled and kissed her head. "I'm sorry for telling you what to wear and I'm sorry for starting on you when a man looked at you. I know that men are going to look at you because you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and I promise that in the future I will try to accept that."  
  
"And?" She prompted.  
  
"I promise that I will pay more attention to your feelings and take your feelings into account before making rash decisions." He recited what he had planned to say on the way up the stairs.  
  
"Such as?"  
  
"Such as inviting people that you hate into the hotel." He replied with a smile.  
  
She looked up at him. "That's better." She kissed him gently. "As longs as I get to be on top."  
  
He smiled and captured her lips again. His hands drifted to her waist and slid up the black jumper she'd just put on. His cold hands on her warm flesh made her shiver. She gasped as his lips left her mouth and found the pulse point on her neck. He ran his teeth over her skin.  
  
"Take me Angel." She whispered.  
  
He lifted his head, stopping the movements his hands were making under her jumper.  
  
"Cordelia."  
  
"I know we've talked about it before and never done it but I want you to." She told him honestly. "I want to be yours."  
  
"Is this just because Buffy's downstairs?" He asked.  
  
She shrugged. "Partly I guess. But hearing what you just said just now I know that it's me that you love and it's me you want to be yours. I want to be yours in front of them. I don't want to be your. your closet girlfriend!"  
  
He smiled at her. "You could never be a closet girlfriend. If you want to tell them about us then we can but I didn't because I wanted to break it to Buffy gently. I would like to mark you but only if you're sure that's what you want."  
  
"Maybe we should go downstairs and talk about it tonight?" She suggested.  
  
He smiled again. "That sounds like a good idea."  
  
She kissed him again quickly and they went back downstairs. 


	2. Chapter Two

Title: Slayers Present and Future  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: A future slayer is kidnapped and it's up to the Fang Gang and the present slayer to get her back.  
  
Gunn joking that it would be an all night research session seemed to have turned out true.  
  
It was four in the morning when everyone either went upstairs to bed or left to go home.  
  
Cordelia walked out with Gunn and Wes but snuck back in when she was sure everyone was in their rooms. She crept up the stairs and into Angel's room without anyone noticing.  
  
"I feel like a naughty girl creeping out of the house." She replied as she shut the door quietly behind her.  
  
He smiled at her choice of words. "If that's what you want to be then go ahead."  
  
She pulled a face. "Are you going to tell her?" She asked meaning Buffy.  
  
He nodded. "I'll take her out for dinner or something tomorrow night and tell her. You don't mind me doing that do you?"  
  
She shook her head and slipped off her jeans, pulling on a pair of his boxers instead.  
  
Pulling off her jumper, she was pushed towards the wall. He caught her around the waist and lifted her up, pressing her against his body. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his lips attached to hers. Tightening her legs around his waist, he let go of her waist to press himself against her more. He reached around her back to unfasten her bra and slip its straps off her arms. With her breasts bare he let his mouth travel down to suck her nipples and nibble the tender skin. She moaned at the sensation and felt behind her to reach for the lock on the door. Sliding it into place she let her hand travel back to his shoulder so he could carry her to the bed.  
  
Laying her down he pulled off the boxers of his she was wearing leaving her just in a thong. She unbuttoned his chest leaving his chest bare for her to kiss. He hooked his fingers in the sides of her thong and pulled it down. Shedding his own pants he settled himself over her.  
  
"You are so beautiful." He murmured, stroking her hair and then kissing her neck.  
  
"I love you." She replied as he filled her. "God, I love you."  
  
He moaned as she bit his shoulder. "I love you baby."  
  
She began meeting his thrusts with her own, driving them both closer and closer to ecstasy. She moaned as he slipped a hand in between them to rub her flaming nub.  
  
With expert ability she flipped him over so that she was straddling him. She rode up and down on him while he worked his fingers against her engorged womanhood.  
  
"I told you I wanted to be on top." She told him and leaned down to kiss his lips. "And that I wanted you to mark me."  
  
He looked at her as she slowed her motions. "Are you sure?"  
  
She nodded and began to speed up again. He grabbed hold of her waist and rolled her over so that he was on top again.  
  
Thrusting in and out he took them both to climax. As he felt her contract around him he lowered his head and let his fangs appear. Sinking them into her, she screamed out in pleasure.  
  
Tasting her blood and her wrapped around him he let himself go, relishing in the taste of her blood and arousal.  
  
With one last thrust he released her neck, licking the wound clean of the blood that surrounded the two puncture wounds. She sank into the bed, still clinging to his back with her legs wrapped round his waist.  
  
"You're mine Cor." He whispered, too sated to even move off her body.  
  
"And you're mine." She replied, leaning her face into his neck. "Forever."  
  
He smiled at her words and then they both fell into a blissful sleep.  
  
She woke up the next morning encased in his arms. She smiled remembering last night.  
  
She lifted her hand to feel the small wound on her neck. She felt a tingle run through her body as she remembered the feeling.  
  
Hearing her heartbeat speed up Angel opened his eyes. "Morning." He whispered.  
  
She smiled and turned to see him. "Good morning."  
  
"Feeling happy?" He asked and traced the tattoo on the bottom of her back with his fingers.  
  
She kissed his lips gently. "Deliriously."  
  
"I suppose it's helped your safety as well as enhancing your sexual pleasure."  
  
"It has?"  
  
He nodded. "See, this is why I wanted to talk to you about it first."  
  
"Please don't bore me with the 'I'm superior to you' speech and just get on with what you were telling me." She said pointedly.  
  
"I was saying that if you hadn't sprung it on me while we were making love then you would have known all this before." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he smiled. "Okay, being bitten by me means that any other vampires who come near you will see my mark and feel that it's a mate mark and not just an unfinished killing mark and keep away from you. They'll be able to tell that it was the legendary Angelus's mark and keep away."  
  
"Legendary." She snorted. "He was a pussy cat."  
  
He growled and lunged at her as she giggled.  
  
Angel came downstairs on his own leaving Cordelia to use the fire escape and walk through the front door like she'd stayed at home last night.  
  
"Morning everyone." She greeted both Scoobies and Fang Gang as she came through the door.  
  
She'd worn her hair loose so the bite mark on her neck wasn't visible.  
  
She saw Angel and smiled. "Hi Angel."  
  
He raised both his eyebrows quickly and smiled.  
  
"So, what are we doing today?" Buffy asked from her perch on the couch.  
  
"I don't know about you." Wes began. "But we have cases to work on." Turning to Cordelia he continued. "I've got a Mr and Mrs Wilson coming in later on this morning. Their young daughter was kidnapped last night by a DUO. Will you be able to take care of it?"  
  
Cordelia nodded, instantly sober. She hated cases like that.  
  
"What's a DUO?" Xander asked.  
  
"Demon of unknown origin." Fred replied. "We tend to abbreviate things around here. We say them so much it just makes it easier."  
  
"And Giles, I was wondering if you could help be translate an ancient scroll I've managed to get my hands on." Wes continued, looking at Buffy's watcher. "I believer there's some Nigerian and a demon language that I have no idea what it is."  
  
Giles nodded and followed Wes into a well lit room off the lobby Wes sometimes used instead of his office. It tended to have bad lighting in there because it had no windows.  
  
"So, what are we doing today?" Buffy replied again, looking straight at Angel.  
  
He glanced towards Cordelia who had busied herself at her desk. "I thought maybe you could amuse yourselves today while we get some work done and then maybe I could take you out to dinner tonight?"  
  
Xander and Willow glanced at each other nervously.  
  
"I don't get it." Anya said, seeing both of them glance at each other.  
  
"Before you were human honey." Xander reassured her.  
  
Buffy beamed. "That would be wonderful."  
  
Cordelia coughed. "I'll get a file ready for the couple coming in."  
  
Buffy turned to her. "That's right Cordy, you start work and I'll go shopping to buy myself something nice for tonight. Nice change in roles, don't you think?"  
  
Cordelia could have thought of something equally snippy to say in response but decided not to, Buffy was going to get a big enough shock that night. "I'll go and start work then."  
  
She went into the office to pull out a folder and some sheets to go in it. "Fred honey, could you try and fix the coffee machine? I don't think it's working properly."  
  
Fred smiled and nodded. "Sure, I had some coffee this morning and it tasted more like sludge than coffee."  
  
She took the lid off the machine and started tinkering with it. "I think it's the filter that's gone, we might have to get a new machine altogether."  
  
Cordelia looked up from her newly made file. "It'll be okay, do you fancy going out to get some take out while I finish this?"  
  
"Sure, double mocha?"  
  
Cordelia nodded. "Of course, you're an angel."  
  
"Well, not literally." Fred replied with a grin and went to grab her purse.  
  
"Sending Fred out on errands for you? I'm shocked. Oh wait, no I'm really not." Buffy said, leaning across the counter.  
  
"Bite me Buffy." Cordelia responded without looking up.  
  
Buffy lost interest in Cordelia when she saw Angel return from upstairs dressed in a white vest and black sweatpants. "Training?" She asked, losing interest in shopping, for a while anyway.  
  
He nodded, selecting a weapon from the cabinet.  
  
"Mind if I join in?"  
  
He shook his head and tossed her a weapon. "Downstairs." He told her, pointing to the basement door. "I'll be down in a minute."  
  
When she'd gone he went across to Cordelia. "Where did Xander, Willow and Anya go?"  
  
"I think they went with Fred to get coffee and then I think they're going sightseeing."  
  
He nodded. "I wish I was training with you."  
  
"Angel, honey, you only want to train with me because you never get any training done. We always end up doing other kinds of training that really aren't going to help us kill beasties."  
  
He kissed her shoulder. "I know, that's what makes it fun." She shivered and then heard the front door open and close.  
  
"Go train, that might be my clients." She shoved him away from her as she stood up.  
  
"And behave yourself."  
  
He shot her a sour look but went to the basement.  
  
Cordelia went to greet her clients. "Mr and Mrs Wilson? I'm Cordelia Chase."  
  
She held out her hand and the young couple took turns in shaking it. "Why don't you come into my office and we'll talk."  
  
She led them into Wes's office and shut the door, indicating that they should sit down.  
  
She sat down opposite them. "Do you want to tell me what actually happened?"  
  
The young woman looked at her tearfully. "Carla, our daughter, was in her bedroom playing. It would be about six o clock yesterday evening. That's right isn't it?"  
  
Her husband nodded. "That's right, about six. We were in the lounge watching TV. It wasn't on loud. We should have heard."  
  
"Don't blame yourself Mr Wilson." Cordelia urged gently. "There was probably nothing you could have done to stop what happened."  
  
He seemed to look grateful at her words. "I guess."  
  
His wife picked up the story again. "Well, we were sat there and we heard a bump so I got up and I went in to see what was happening. If she'd hurt herself. I went in and there was this thing stood there. So I called Mark in."  
  
Mr Wilson nodded. "So I ran in and Maggie was stood in the doorway and this monster had hold of Carla. She was kicking and crying. I tried to get close to get him away from her but he did something."  
  
"What do you mean, he did something?" Cordelia asked, taking the occasional note.  
  
"He froze me, I couldn't move. I was just stood there and I couldn't move any closer to them." His voice began to break. "I tried to get her back."  
  
Cordelia felt tears spring into her own eyes.  
  
Maggie started to talk again, through her own tears. "The man, monster, whatever he was, jumped out of the window with her and I ran to the window and they were gone. Carla was gone."  
  
Mark put an arm around his wife's shoulders as she broke up completely. Sobs shook her tiny frame as the anguish of the night before came back to her.  
  
Cordelia felt tears escape her own eyes.  
  
She walked around the desk to get some tissues off a shelf and hand one to the crying woman. She knelt beside her on the floor and held her hand. "Have you got a picture of Carla?"  
  
Mark nodded and pulled his wallet out, removing a small picture of a small blonde child.  
  
"How old is she?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"She's only six, she's only a baby." Maggie said, looking at the familiar face in the picture and breaking into fresh sobs.  
  
"Maggie, I need you to do something for me." Cordelia told her gently. "It's very important."  
  
The woman nodded.  
  
"I want you to try and picture who did this, okay?" Cordelia urged. "When you see him I need you to draw him for me. That way we know what we're looking for and then we can find Carla and bring her back to you. Can you do that?"  
  
She nodded and accepted the paper and pen Cordelia gave her. "I'll try."  
  
"Good." Cordelia smiled and squeezed her hand before standing up. "Mr Wilson, can I ask you a few more questions?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"I just need to know things like your address and places that Carla might know to go if she escapes, okay?"  
  
He nodded and began to answer her questions.  
  
About an hour later Mrs Wilson gave Cordelia the sketch that she'd done.  
  
"Thank you, this will help." Cordelia promised. "Now, there's nothing that you can do at this moment in time. I have your telephone number so I'll call you when we find out anything."  
  
"Should we go to the police?" Mr Wilson asked.  
  
Cordelia thought for a moment. "I would have to say no at this point because you said that the man who did this wasn't human, that he was a monster. The police don't really understand that. Until we can rule out more possibilities than just let us handle it for now. If we come up against a brick wall then we'll consider bringing the police into it."  
  
The couple seemed satisfied with the answer. "That's why we called you instead of the police in the first place." Mark confessed. "We heard a rumour that you work in the supernatural. I can tell you one thing; the thing that did this wasn't human."  
  
Cordelia nodded and led them to the door, holding it open for them. "Please find my baby." Maggie said once more in a heartbreaking voice.  
  
Cordelia squeezed back tears and nodded. "We'll try our best." 


	3. Chapter Three

Title: Slayers Present and Future  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: A future slayer is kidnapped and it's up to the Fang Gang and the present slayer to get her back.  
  
Cordelia watched them leave and turned back around to go into the office again, grabbing the coffee that Fred had got her on her way back in. God, that had been hard, she thought.  
  
She sat back down at Wes's desk and picked up the sketch. She gasped when she saw what Maggie had drawn.  
  
"Damn." She muttered and bolted out of the office, the sketch still in her hand.  
  
She tore across the lobby, past a startled looking Anya and Willow and threw open the basement door.  
  
"Angel!" She shouted and then lost her footing as she fell over a sweater that had been left on one of the steps.  
  
She screamed as she fell down half of the basement stairs. She landed at the bottom in a heap, the sketch still in her hand. Willow and Anya, hearing the bumps, came to the top of the stairs.  
  
Angel instantly rushed across to her. "Cordy, are you okay?"  
  
She lifted her head slightly and groaned. "Nothing broken. Who left that damn sweater there?"  
  
She looked up and saw the pink sweater Buffy had been wearing strewn across one of the middle steps. "Never mind." She replied, glaring at the slayer who stood in the middle of the basements in shorts and a vest.  
  
Angel helped her sit on the bottom step. "What were you going to say"?  
  
She remembered the sketch. "Oh God, I spoke to Mr and Mrs Wilson and she drew me a picture of the demon who kidnapped her daughter."  
  
She thrust it in his direction and Buffy came to stand behind him so she could see.  
  
Intrigued, Willow and Anya came down the stairs too.  
  
"It can't be, the Master's dead." Angel argued.  
  
"I don't care; he kidnapped Carla Wilson last night." Cordelia said, rubbing her elbow where she'd grazed it on one of the steps as she fell.  
  
"But I destroyed his bones." Buffy said weakly, remembering how schizo she'd gone on the remains of the master.  
  
"Yeah, and I was hung upside down over his bones before you did ready to be killed." Cordelia replied. "I know he was dead, but Mr and Mrs Wilson saw him kidnap their daughter last night. Somehow he must have been resurrected."  
  
"Maybe your clients are just trouble causers." Buffy suggested.  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "No, they were the real thing."  
  
"How can you be so sure?" Willow asked from behind her.  
  
"I just know, okay?" Cordelia said angrily.  
  
"Okay, calm down." Angel soothed, diffusing the situation. "Why don't we all go back upstairs and get Wes and Giles to do a little investigating."  
  
Buffy stepped around Cordelia and picked up the offending sweater, leaving Angel and Cordelia alone in the basement.  
  
He sat down next to her and put an arm around her. "Are you okay?"  
  
"No, they were so upset. They saw the whole thing and they couldn't do anything to help. He used some sort of power on the husband. He said it felt like he was frozen in place."  
  
Angel nodded. "I never heard of him having that power but anything is possible. It's been years since I've known him."  
  
Cordelia remembered him telling her that the Master was the head of Angel's line of vampires. "If he is alive then we need to get Carla off him and quickly."  
  
Cordelia and Angel went back upstairs to find Wes and Giles already there.  
  
"Giles, he can't be alive. Why would he do this to me?" Buffy was complaining to Giles.  
  
"He put me through all that and then he comes back to haunt me."  
  
"Oh for God's sake Buffy grow up!" Cordelia snapped. "He's not come back to haunt you! He's kidnapped a little girl who has nothing to do with you. Not everything in life revolves around you!"  
  
Buffy spun around to face around her. "Can you remember what the Master did to me?"  
  
"And what about all the people he killed?" Cordelia shouted. "At least you're alive. I mean, sure he did kill you but you survived. You beat his bones with a hammer until they were dust. I'd say you got him out of your system then. He's in LA, not Sunnydale. This has nothing to do with you!"  
  
Everyone had suddenly gone silent. "Then why is he here now while I'm here? I'm sure Angel agrees with me."  
  
She looked to Angel for support.  
  
Cordelia almost growled. "Buffy, Angel doesn't love you anymore."  
  
Buffy laughed. "Of course he does, he always will. He's taking me out to dinner tonight."  
  
Cordelia sighed. "No, he doesn't. He was taking you out tonight to tell you. Angel and I have been seeing each other for the past year." She saw tears start to well up in the slayer's eyes. "I'm sorry Buffy; I didn't want you to find out like that."  
  
Angel went to stand in between the two women. "Buffy why don't we talk?" He suggested and turned to Cordelia. "Let Fred see to your elbow, you're bleeding."  
  
She nodded and went to get the first aid box while Angel took Buffy into Wes's office.  
  
Cordelia found the first aid box and went to sit on the couch next to Fred. "Do you mind?"  
  
The young girl shook her head and took the box off her. "She had to know Cordy."  
  
"I know Fred, but I could have been more tactful about it." Cordelia winced as Fred placed an antiseptic wipe on the wound on her elbow. "At least not shouted it to her."  
  
"Cordelia." Wes interrupted. "Did the Wilson's say anything else about the Master?"  
  
"Just that he used some sort of freezing power to keep Mr Wilson away from him." Cordelia replied.  
  
"That isn't right." Wes mused to himself. "He was just a vampire. He didn't have powers."  
  
"Maybe he learned some." Cordelia said flippantly and shoved her hair back from her face.  
  
Something on her neck caught Wes's attention. "Cordelia?"  
  
"What?" She asked, not realising what he was looking at.  
  
"You neck." Wes looked faint.  
  
She realised what he was looking at. From her position on the other side of Cordelia Fred couldn't see.  
  
"You let him bite you?" Wes whispered incredulously.  
  
"I didn't let him! I wanted him to." She replied and covered it once more with her hair. "And it's none of your business."  
  
"I believe it is!" Wesley shouted now. "If this continues then you could reawaken Angel's bloodlust."  
  
"He didn't drink, he just bit." She interrupted.  
  
"As I was saying, he could get carried away one day and kill you or even turn you!" He shouted. "Is that what you want?"  
  
"Of course not!" She shouted back and then stopped when she saw Xander and Anya come into the lobby from the courtyard where they had been stood with Giles and Willow. "Look, can we talk about this in private?"  
  
He didn't say anything but walked back to his office leaving her to follow.  
  
Once the door was slammed he began shouting at her with her shouting at him in response.  
  
"Yo Fred, girl, what's going on?" Gunn asked as he came into the lobby.  
  
"I think Wes is mad at Cordelia."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He's mad at something that she and Angel did." Fred replied over the sound of Wes and Cordy shouting at each other.  
  
"What did they do?"  
  
"He bit her."  
  
"Bastard! Vamp's gonna die!" He said angrily and started looking around for him.  
  
"No Charles!" Fred shouted, realising how it had sounded. "She wanted him to!"  
  
He stopped his searching and stood and looked at her and then looked at the two people fighting in Wes's office. "I was normal before I met y'all."  
  
"What's going on?" Angel asked as he and a teary looking Buffy came out of the small room they'd been in.  
  
"Wes saw the gift you gave Cordy bro'." Gunn answered, still looking a little pissed off.  
  
"The gift I what..?" Angel asked and then understood. "Oh."  
  
He marched across the lobby to save Cordelia.  
  
"What gift?" Buffy asked, walking across to Willow.  
  
"Angel bit her." Gunn said without thinking. "I mean, not in a bad way, in a kinda, good way, kinda."  
  
Buffy's faced registered hurt, then anger and then hurt again. She shrugged nonchalantly. "He should have sucked her dry."  
  
"Hey!" Fred complained. "That was mean."  
  
"Don't worry Fred, I probably deserve it." Cordelia said, walking out of the office, leaving Angel to fight it out with Wes. "I mean, falling in love and sharing things with my soul mate means that I should have the blood sucked out of me. After all, it is such a killable offence." She mocked.  
  
Buffy glared at her. "He is not your soul mate."  
  
Cordelia snorted. "Well, he certainly isn't yours. I think you lost that right when you sent him to hell, or was it when you."  
  
"You finish that sentence and I swear I'll make sure you never finish a sentence ever again." Buffy threatened angrily.  
  
"I thought you didn't hurt humans Buffy?"  
  
"You're not human." Buffy said, almost growling.  
  
Cordelia laughed. "I guess not."  
  
"Okay, not to sound like a broken record but what's going on here?" Angel asked, coming out of the office. "Again."  
  
"Just a disagreement baby, it's okay." Cordelia said, putting an arm around him, watching as it made Buffy madder.  
  
Before Buffy could say anything a movement by the front door caught Cordelia's attention.  
  
"Angel, there's someone out there." She whispered, clutching his arm.  
  
"Really? I didn't see anything." He whispered back.  
  
"Angel, you're a vampire, use you senses." Cordelia ordered.  
  
He pulled a face and headed towards the door.  
  
It swung open before he could reach it and Maggie Wilson stumbled through.  
  
Cordelia sidestepped Angel and rushed to her side.  
  
"Maggie, what happened?" She asked and took the frightened woman's arm to lead her into the hotel.  
  
"We were driving home and the monster that took Carla appeared in front of the car."  
  
She said, occasionally sobbing and limping slightly on her left foot. "He got Mark out of the car so I got out as well. He shoved me out of the way and disappeared with him."  
  
Cordelia sat her down on the couch and sat down next to her. "He's got them both now."  
  
Cordelia put an arm around her shoulders while the others seemed to back off subtly.  
  
"Mrs Wilson, have you any idea what this person wants with your family?" Wes asked, coming closer.  
  
She shook her head. "I don't know. We're just a normal family."  
  
"Can I get you a cup of coffee?" Fred asked.  
  
She nodded gratefully, obviously in shock.  
  
"Do you think you need to go to the hospital for your ankle?" Cordelia asked her. "Or I could bandage it for you."  
  
"I think its okay. I fell over before I got back in the car, that's all. I just want my family back." She put her head down into her hands. "I can't bear it."  
  
"I know." Cordelia murmured and stroked her back. "You can stay here until we find out what's happening. There'll be someone to protect you at all times."  
  
She seemed to nod and Cordelia accepted the coffee off Fred for her.  
  
"Cordelia, if I could have a word." Wes said quietly.  
  
Cordelia nodded and stood up, letting Fred take the coffee again and sit down next to Maggie.  
  
"I think we need to hit the underground and see what we can come up with. If the Master is alive then someone must know about it. With her family gone then Mrs Wilson is very vulnerable. She is the only one left which means she might be left for a reason." He told her.  
  
"Okay, so Gunn and Angel could hit the sewers. And we could send Buffy to Merl; see if she can get anything out of him." Cordelia suggested.  
  
He nodded. "That seems sensible. I have a couple of sources I can contact which means that you and Fred can take turns in watching Maggie. Giles, Xander, Willow and Anya can research unusual occurrences; the Wilson's might not be the only family this has happened to."  
  
Cordelia nodded and went to tell the others what was happening.  
  
Lorne chose that moment to come in through the hotel doors and instantly got a job assigned by Cordelia. 


	4. Chapter Four

Title: Slayers Present and Future  
  
Author: victoriamartynne  
  
Rating: R  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Spoilers: None, I think!  
  
Summary: A future slayer is kidnapped and it's up to the Fang Gang and the present slayer to get her back.  
  
Everyone arrived back at the hotel at pretty much the same time. Maggie had proved inconsolable so Cordelia had given her a sleeping tablet to make her rest. Fred feared she might make herself ill if she exhausted herself anymore.  
  
Angel and Gunn had found nothing out from their trip to the sewers although they did kill a couple of vampires.  
  
Giles, Willow, Xander and Anya's research had found that nothing unusual and similar to the Wilson's case had occurred in the past five years, although Giles was insisting that he look further back.  
  
Lorne had contacted a couple of sources that came into the bar and they reported that they'd heard nothing about the Master rising.  
  
Even Merl had heard nothing and had tried to charge Buffy for asking him.  
  
Wes had phoned some of his own private contacts and had also drawn a blank which left them right back at the beginning again.  
  
Cordelia came back downstairs to find everyone sat around the counter. "Found out nothing, huh?"  
  
They all looked at her glumly, except Buffy who just looked down.  
  
"Okay, so what next?" She asked Wes.  
  
"Well, maybe we could talk to Maggie again and just keep digging. Someone has to know something." He pointed out. "If the Master is back then someone must have seen him. Someone must know something."  
  
As if on cue a man ran into the hotel, falling down the stairs and landing in a heap in the doorway.  
  
Angel jumped up from his seat to help the man up. "Can we help?"  
  
"There was someone in the street, he was attacking people. I think he was biting them. It was sick." He exclaimed.  
  
With a look at the others Angel headed for the door. "Bring weapons!"  
  
Running down the street, Angel followed the scent of blood and the sound of screaming.  
  
It wasn't until he'd run half a block that he saw what the man had described. Bodies were strewn across the sidewalk with blood dripping down their necks. The smell was overwhelming and Angel couldn't spend any time seeing if anyone was alive. He needed to follow the trail. Wes would sort out the ambulances.  
  
Stopping to smell the air he heard the gang following in his car, Cordelia ay the wheel, he saw as they pulled up. "Jump in!" She ordered and he did as he was told so she could carry on. "Xander's driving the Scoobies in his car so they'll look after whoever's alive. Keep smelling broody, we need you."  
  
He smiled at her choice of words and indicated that she should turn left.  
  
Tearing around the corner she ended up skidding to a halt as the Master appeared in the road, fangs bared.  
  
"Jesus!" Cordelia muttered as she fought to control the wheel.  
  
Clamping a hand on the steering wheel Angel helped her right the car before they crashed into a building.  
  
Wes and Gunn were out of the car before it had stopped and fighting the demon. Angel jumped straight in to help, leaving Cordelia, Fred and Lorne to exit the car more slowly, grabbing weapons from the bag in the back seat.  
  
Angel delivered a blow to his side with his axe, but it didn't cut through his skin.  
  
"How the..?" He muttered before being sent flying by a punch to the stomach.  
  
Gunn and Wes were sent sprawling next leaving a worried looking demon and two women.  
  
"Fred, stay behind me." Cordelia warned. "Lorne, try and wake Wes or Gunn up, Angel get your ass off the floor right now!"  
  
The Master ducked and avoided Cordelia's first blow then got in one of his own to the side of her face.  
  
With a sickening laugh the Master began floating off the air until he reached a second floor balcony. Vaulting over it he disappeared from sight.  
  
"Angel!" Cordelia said and pointed to where he'd disappeared.  
  
He nodded and jumped up to where he'd disappeared and jumped after him. "Go in through the front door." He shouted before entering the building.  
  
She turned to Lorne who was trying to wake up Wes and Gunn, both having hit their heads on the brick of the building. "I'm going to go in. Fred, stay here with Lorne until the Scoobies get here. Then send Buffy in, she's got enough strength to help Angel fight him. I'll see what the building is."  
  
Fred and Lorne nodded. "Cordy, is your face okay?" Fred asked.  
  
She nodded. "It's fine. Stay out here, okay?"  
  
She entered the building through the front door, grabbing Wes's sword from the floor where he'd dropped it.  
  
The room she'd entered was dark and dingy, covered in cobwebs and dust.  
  
"Angel?" She called out.  
  
All she heard was her voice echoing off her walls.  
  
"Great." She muttered. "All by myself when the Dark Avenger goes to play superhero."  
  
She trod carefully through the room and into the next. She dropped the axe and screamed.  
  
Mark Wilson was hanging by the light fitting in the middle of the room. Blood was dripping down his neck and his wrested. His eyes were gouged out leaving a bloody mass in the sockets.  
  
A note was pinned to the front of his shirt. She unpinned it and opened it, her hands shaking.  
  
"One, two."  
  
She closed her eyes and then began running towards the door she'd come through. Before she reached it and explosion rocked the floor she was stood on and she fell through it, tumbling into the basement and becoming trapped by the room beam.  
  
She pulled herself to her feet, shoving aside pieces of floorboard and old carpet.  
  
She felt blood on her forehead. "Better not scar."  
  
She got to her feet and looked around. She was in a small room, now with a precarious roof of floor boarding, roof beams and bits of old carpet.  
  
"Who's there?" A small breathless voice asked. "Please!"  
  
"Hello?" Cordelia shouted back, locating the voice to the next room. "I'm coming."  
  
She trod over the floorboards and boxes that looked like they'd been there for years.  
  
She stepped into the room. "Carla?"  
  
She rushed across to the girl's side. "What happened? Are you hurt?"  
  
She nodded. "Something exploded and something hit me. In my side. I think I'm bleeding."  
  
Kneeling next to the girl Cordelia located the wound and instantly pressed her hand to it, to quench the blood that was seeping out rapidly.  
  
"Who brought you here Carla?" She asked, smoothing the girl's damp hair from her forehead.  
  
"A man, he was really pale and he took me from my bedroom." She began to cry. "I want my mommy."  
  
"I know honey." She felt tears prick her eyes.  
  
Feeling the blood seep over her hand she pulled it away to slip of her shirt and press it to the wound.  
  
Looking around the room she saw a small window on the right hand side of the room. "I need you to hold this shirt to your side and while I see if we can get out of here? Can you do that?"  
  
She waited for a nod and then went across to the window. Punching out the glass she began shouting.  
  
"Fred! Lorne! Help!" She shouted. "Please!"  
  
It took a while but they eventually located her at the small window.  
  
"Cordelia, what happened?" Wes asked, having now woken up. "We heard an explosion."  
  
"The floor exploded and I fell through from the first floor." She told him. "Carla's down here."  
  
"And Mr Wilson?" He asked hopefully.  
  
She shook her head. "Upstairs." She said quietly. "Get an ambulance here for Carla; she's bleeding heavily from her left side."  
  
He nodded and transmitted her order to Fred.  
  
"Where's Angel?"  
  
"Still in the building somewhere."  
  
"Call him." She ordered, glancing back at Carla. "And get Buffy in there when she gets here. She could help get us out of here."  
  
He nodded and left the window, leaving Cordelia to go back to Carla.  
  
"The paramedics are here now Cordy." Fred shouted through the hole.  
  
She nodded. "And Angel?"  
  
"He's fine; he's on his way out. He killed the Master, or what appeared to be the Master. It was in fact a demon using magic to appear to look like the Master to gain more prestige. Carla's the future slayer; she's going to kill the demon when she gets chosen. He was trying to stop it." She replied. "Buffy's gone in to see if she can get you out."  
  
"Tell her to be careful, the floor's unsteady."  
  
Fred's face disappeared and a paramedic's face appeared instead.  
  
"What are her injuries?" He asked, having being briefed by Wes.  
  
"She's got a deep wound on her left side and she's bleeding heavily." Cordelia replied, still holding her shirt to the wound. "Other than that just scratches and bruises."  
  
"Can you remove the cloth so I can see the injury for a second?"  
  
She removed the 'cloth' and blood spurted onto her vest. She shrieked and placed the shirt back.  
  
"Miss Chase, there may be a hole in her artery. I need you to feel in the wound until you locate the blood flow and find a hole." The paramedic instructed through the hole.  
  
Cordelia looked at the crying, sweating girl in front of her. "I can't, I'll hurt her."  
  
"Miss Chase, you need to do it. If you don't she'll die." He ordered.  
  
She looked at Carla again. She couldn't do this.  
  
"Cor, remember when you dig bullets out of my back?" Angel reminded her, having being listening but not showing her his presence, which earned him a strange look from the paramedic.  
  
"Miss Chase, be brave and you can do something very special and save Carla's life." He urged.  
  
"Okay." She whispered and eyed the girl. "Hold still baby, I'll try to be quick."  
  
She pushed her index and middle fingers of her right hand into the wound on Carla's side. Carla began screaming as the wound began to burn with Cordelia's fingers in it.  
  
"That's it Cordelia." The paramedic called, dropping the formality. "Feel for the direction of the blood flow and go against it until you find the source."  
  
Cordelia flinched as the blood coated her hands as her fingers moved in the torn flesh and muscle. "I can't feel anything, I'm hurting her!"  
  
"Cordelia, you're halfway there, you can't stop now." The paramedic said, half panicked by the fact that she might give up now she'd done the hard part. "Feel the flow of the blood."  
  
"I'm feeling the fucking flow of the blood!" Cordelia shouted back angrily. "If you think I'm doing a crap job then get you skinny ass in here and save this girl's life yourself!"  
  
The paramedic gulped and said nothing.  
  
She felt around in the wound with her right hand trying to ignore the hideous wailing the girl was making, while trying to hold her down with the other hand. She jumped when a stream of blood shot out of the wound and hit her in the face.  
  
She gasped. "What does that mean?"  
  
"You're close, just a little further. The blood spurting means you're near the arterial tear."  
  
She nodded and felt further. She broke out into a smile. "I got it."  
  
She plugged the hole with her fingers and felt the girl still, the pain dulling slightly now that she wasn't moving around in the wound.  
  
"You did good Cor." Angel shouted through the hole.  
  
She nodded and stroked Carla's head. "It'll all be over soon sweetie. Then we'll take you to see your mom."  
  
"And daddy?"  
  
Cordelia felt tears well up in her eyes, remembering Mark's body hanging from the light fitting upstairs. "And daddy too."  
  
"Okay Miss Chase." The paramedic said. "The fire department is here so hopefully we'll be able to get you out now."  
  
"Okay." She called back and then turned to Carla again. "There might be a bit of noise right now but in a few minutes we'll be out, okay?"  
  
The few minutes took two hours. The fire department couldn't make the hole bigger to get them out so they had to go through the front door and unblock the mess on the first floor. Carla had been taken to the hospital and reunited with Maggie who had decided to wait until she was better before telling her that Mark was dead.  
  
Cordelia had emerged from the house dusty and covered in blood. Angel was the first to come embrace her but he was quickly followed by the others.  
  
The emotion of the moment got too much for Cordelia and she fainted.  
  
"Get her to the car." Wes said, helping Angel carry her. "We'll get her home."  
  
Cordelia woke up in the bath. Angel was knelt on the floor next to the tub cradling her shoulders so she couldn't drown. Most of the blood was gone from her body, leaving just her own blood on the cut on her forehead and the blood of Carla's that had spurted onto her cheek.  
  
"Hey." Angel said softly.  
  
She smiled back. "Hi."  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"How is Carla?" She asked, remembering the girls' face as she probed into her wound.  
  
"She's fine. Maggie hasn't told her yet about Mark." He said sombrely. "I'm sorry you had to see that."  
  
She nodded.  
  
He scooped water into his hands and washed her tired and occasionally grazed and cut limbs.  
  
"That feels good." She whispered sleepily.  
  
"Let me get that blood off your face and then you can sleep."  
  
She nodded but her eyes were closed before he even had the chance to get the blood off her.  
  
She awoke the next morning to silence. She turned over in bed and saw Angel gone.  
  
She sat up and looked at the clock. Two pm.  
  
She yawned and got out of bed, wrapping Angel's robe around her.  
  
She walked down the stairs and saw everyone sat around the desks working.  
  
"Hey guys." She yawned. "Why didn't you wake me?"  
  
"We thought you deserved a lie in." Fred smiled. "Coffee?"  
  
She nodded and collapsed on Angel's knee.  
  
"Has Maggie called?"  
  
"Yeah, she said she'd come and see you about three o clock." Angel told her, stroking her hair.  
  
She nodded. "What do I say to her?"  
  
"Whatever's in your heart." He smiled sadly.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Cordelia?" Maggie's voice rang through the Hyperion, she'd come in unnoticed even to Angel.  
  
Cordelia stood up. "Hi."  
  
Maggie smiled softly. "Can we talk?"  
  
She nodded and led the way into Wes's office.  
  
"Do you want some coffee or something?" She offered.  
  
Maggie shook her. "No, I need to get back to Carla."  
  
"How is she?"  
  
"Alive, thanks to you." She said meaningfully. "The paramedic told me what you did. I think it was really brave of you. And I'm so grateful."  
  
Cordelia smiled and took the distraught woman's hand. Tears sprung to both of their eyes. "I'm so sorry about Mark, that we couldn't save him."  
  
She nodded, feeling a tear fall down her face. "Me too. That I could have saved him I mean."  
  
"Did you tell Carla?"  
  
Maggie nodded. "She was so sad, the doctor's had to sedate her, she went wild."  
  
Cordelia fought back tears. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Maggie smiled. "It's not your fault."  
  
"I feel responsible." She admitted.  
  
Maggie shook her head. "You shouldn't, you saved my baby girl and Mark would have been glad of that."  
  
Cordelia smiled. "I'm glad he would have thought so. What are you going to do now? Stay in LA?"  
  
She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. My mom lives in Arizona so we could go live with her. But all or Carla's friends are here so I think it would be good for her to be around people that she knows at the moment. I don't know really. When everything settles down and I can think straight I'll figure something out."  
  
Cordelia nodded. "Let me know what you plan to do, I'd like to keep in touch."  
  
Maggie touched Cordelia's had gently. "I will. But before I go can you tell me one thing? Why did that man want with Carla?"  
  
"After all you've seen do you believe in the supernatural?"  
  
Maggie nodded slowly.  
  
"There are a lot of bad things in the world. in every generation one girl is chosen to fight them." She said, creating her own version of the 'slayer' speech. "The man who kidnapped Carla found a prophecy about himself. Your daughter, in the future, is going to be the girl who is chosen to fight the bad things. And one day she would kill the bad thing that took Carla. He kidnapped her intending to kill her and therefore stop his death."  
  
Maggie looked confused. "How can Carla fight the bad things? She's not special; she's just a little girl."  
  
"When she's older she'll be chosen and she'll get supernatural powers."  
  
"How do you know she'll get supernatural powers? What if she doesn't and she gets killed?" She sounded panicked.  
  
"Look out there." Cordelia said and pointed out of the window of the office into the lobby. "The short blonde. She's a slayer; your daughter will follow in her footsteps. She helped me and Carla get out of the basement you know, she lifted the beams that the firemen couldn't. She's averted more apocalypses than I care to remember. She's a hero. One day your daughter will be."  
  
"When?"  
  
"I don't know, when Buffy dies or when the next slayer dies. She'll have her turn." Cordelia promised.  
  
"I don't want her to." Maggie said with venom in her voice. "I don't want her involved in the supernatural. I want her to be normal."  
  
"If she's chosen then that is her destiny." Cordelia said gently and put her arm around her shoulders.  
  
Maggie pulled away and stood up, running out of the office into the lobby, leaving Cordelia to follow.  
  
"You can make this stop!" She screamed at Wes, running across to batter her fists against his chest. "You're the smart one, you charge her destiny!"  
  
Wes looked at Cordelia in confusion over Maggie's head.  
  
She stepped forward and turned Maggie by her shoulder so she was facing Cordelia.  
  
Tears were running down her flushed cheeks in rivers. "You have to change it."  
  
She collapsed in Cordelia's arms, sending them both to the floor where Maggie continued to sob.  
  
"I'll come see Carla, I promise." Cordelia said as she hugged Maggie goodbye at the door. "Take care."  
  
Maggie smiled and left, pushing a pair of sunglasses up her nose to cover her red rimmed eyes.  
  
Cordelia turned and went back into the hotel.  
  
Angel was hovering by the stairs. "Are you okay?"  
  
She nodded and smiled, letting him envelope her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head gently.  
  
"When are the Scoobies going home?" She asked sweetly.  
  
He laughed. "Tomorrow."  
  
"Good." She smiled.  
  
"What? You don't like having them here?" He asked in mock surprise.  
  
"Of course I do honey, of course I do."  
  
"Bye Buffy, don't come back soon." Cordelia muttered under her breath as Buffy and the others prepared to leave.  
  
Angel elbowed her in the side. "Come back soon guys." He called out cheerfully.  
  
Buffy made a point of coming across to hug him. "Come see us in Sunnydale."  
  
He smiled and eyed Cordelia who was, as expected, frowning.  
  
Buffy pulled back and eyed Cordelia also. "I wouldn't want you to bring too much baggage withy you though; we don't have that much room."  
  
"Angel comes with a lot of baggage Buffy, you should know that. What with you being star crossed lovers and all?" She snipped. "Maybe you should take a look at your star crossed lover and realise that maybe he was only that once, right before you sent him to hell."  
  
Gunn snickered and Buffy just pouted.  
  
"See you soon Mr Giles." Wes shouted as Buffy stormed out of the hotel with the watcher following meekly.  
  
Xander, Willow and Anya waved and left also.  
  
"Hear that?" Cordelia asked with a grin. "Silence!"  
  
Fred laughed.  
  
"Angel, honey, you know what I want right now?" He raised an eyebrow. "You."  
  
The End 


End file.
